Due Wednesday August 26, 2009

Our class has been commissioned by the United States Slavery Museum to create a mural to hang in their lobby.
The theme is a history of the transatlantic slave trade. Each group will be responsible for one panel that is based
on a particular subject relating to the transatlantic slave trade. Once all panels are completed and presented to
the class, we will combine the panels to create one giant mural.

Group 1 - Triangle Trade


Group 2 – Capture and Journey to Coast

Group 3 - Middle Passage

Group 4 - Life as a Slave in the New World

Project Directions

Step 1:

o Divide up the topic questions on your assignment sheet among your group members. Each of you will be
responsible for correctly answering at least one topic question. Be detailed and be accurate!


o You will have time in and out of class to research your answer. Look at the sources on the back of your
assignment sheet to help you start your research.


o Once all of you have found your answers, you will share them with one another.

Step 2:


o When everyone is finished, you will combine all of your work in a creative and artistic way onto your panel.
As a group, decide how you will display all of your work (Will you try to make particular items look
authentic and aged? Will you design your panel in an organic, collage style? Will you add additional words,
phrases, shapes and symbols, etc. on your panel to further its artistic appeal?) Make your panel
educational, informative, accurate, creative, and original.


o As you play with the artistic design of your panel, think outside of the box. For example, perhaps your
panel contains 3-D objects protruding from it, or perhaps there are sounds or music that is played so that
panel viewers hear certain things while viewing your art.


o You will present your panel to the class and explain what you have learned about the slave trade through
your research. Your presentation should educate the remainder of class about your topic. Each of you
should thus leave class with a comprehensive understanding of the transatlantic slave trade.




Important Reminders

Be creative! The more colorful and interesting your section is, the better your grade.
Use appropriate sources. I have provided sources for you to use, but you are not limited to those. Make sure if
you use an unlisted source it is a reputable one.
Include your researched information and both artifacts on the poster. This doesn’t mean you necessarily glue a
whole sheet of paper to the panel – you can be creative and artistic in how you include the information, just ensure you include it.